Ai No Hana Saku
by The 11 Tailed Vegetable
Summary: it's been three years since Nico Robin held her brother in her arms as he died. Can her captain and saviour become something more, or will the shattered remnants of robin's heart stay locked away forever?
1. Chapter 1

**AI NO HANA SAKU chapter One**

L.T: Hi guys! Sorry it took so long to start writing again, but my USB escaped, so I had to head to the jungles of Mexico in order to track down a wild one, and I've only just returned. This story is a One Piece LuNi pairing, as promised to Dorothy 4Nia, and there will be lemons, smexiness, blood, death, sad times, and happy times. I haven't gotten further than the Sea Restaurant Baratie arc, so bear with me if my story doesn't run to canon. Anyway, on with the story! Also, for any of you who are wondering, the title means "Love blossoms like a flower". I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE. IF I DID, IT WOULD BE REAL.

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LOCATION: ON BOARD THE MERRY GO,

SOMEWHERE IN THE EAST BLUE

It was that time of year again. Every year, on the fourth day of the seventh month, Nico Robin, expert archaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates, locked herself in her cabin, and refused to come out, even for meals. No one knew why, except Monkey D. Luffy, the bone-headed, meat-loving captain, and he wasn't telling anybody. He'd made a promise, on that fateful day, not so long ago...

Gum-gum...FLASHBACK!

Robin has not yet gained her devil-fruit powers in the flashback.

Robin awoke to darkness, and the smell of cold stone, damp earth, and smoke...her head ached...fading in and out of consciousness, she struggled to stand, slipping on the damp stone flags. Squinting around, she realised that she'd come to in a cramped, stone cell, barred with steel columns to prevent any chance of escape. "Well, well, well, so our liddle goldmine is awake, is she?"Came an unpleasant, grating voice, which sounded like the owner had swallowed broken glass and a bag of nails. Robin whirled on the spot, to see a tall, heavily-built man with a large gut, flanked by two others, subordinates, robin guessed, and, as they trio moved into the light, Robin and one of the guards gasped in shock. Robin gasped, because the younger guard was her long-lost brother, Barlow, and he gasped, because his sister was the latest victim of his leader's foul scheme. The bandit leader ran a sex-slave training camp out of an abandoned fort, and Nico Robin was the latest fly to be caught in his web. "BARLOW!" "SIS!" the two rushed to the bars, clasping hands, tears streaming down their faces and raining kisses on each other. As Barlow slowly pulled away, he looked as though he'd been gutted like a trout. He took a little time to compose himself, then stood back, and watched, almost hauntingly silent, as his little sister was raped in the ass by the bandit leader(A/N: LET'S CALL HIM CHUCK) and the other guy. Later that night, he came to the decision that this would no continue. Collecting his most prized possession, a fruit the size of a baseball, with funny, green and yellow striped skin, he brought it to the deep cell where his estranged sister was being held. Unlocking the door, he laid the fruit in her hands, whispered, "eat", and slunk off. A minute later, a strangled gurgle echoed faintly down the hall, and Nico, swallowing the last bite, tiptoed after her brother, who stuck his head round the corner, beckoning her to come with him. As she turned the corner, the slain body of the man who'd sodomized her along with Chuck lolled at her feet, head flopping on a broken neck. As she gingerly stepped over the carcass, Barlow reached back took her hand, and led her up to the surface. As they saw moonlight, Chuck's grating, rusty-gate voice boomed behind them. "So, where do we think we're going, Barlow?" At the sound of his name, Barlow twisted, drew his twinned swords, Akahime and Kurohime, the fabled "Red and black Princesses", lunging at his former boss. The big man laughed, parrying the strikes with almost contemptuous ease, and the ringing of swords against sword chimed out into the still night air, stirring the wind, as the two warriors battled like the Titans of legend, sparks ringing from the stricken blades, steel whirling and swooping, in a never-ending, intricately flowing dance, until Chuck swatted Kurohime from Barlow's right hand, and drove the cutting edge of his weapon into the chest of Robin's fallen brother, sending the blade crashing through the iron cuirass he wore in a spray of blood, and jutting out a foot from his shoulders. Ripping the claymore from his dying opponent, he swung back, aiming to decapitate this last valiant traitor, when a chilling howl rent the dark, blood-misted sky, and a thousand clawed hands seized Chuck by his ankles, wrists and throat, and pulled in opposite directions until he lay mutilated and ruined on the hard ground. Robin had activated her new powers, the Hana-Hana fruit, but she paid no heed to what she'd just done, instead dropping to her knees, sobbing brokenly across her brother's chest. Still clinging stubbornly to life, Barlow reached up with one trembling hand, stroked Robin's hair, and whispered, "I'm...sorry... I... wasn't there...for... *cough cough*. His head slumped back against the grass, and he breathed his last, as his grieving sister held him tightly, before gently laying him down, picking up his swords and placing them in his cold hands, so his spirit could rest easy. As she closed her fallen champion's still blue eyes and brushed the thick, spiky black hair from his brow, a shadow fell over her, and a hand came to rest on her shoulder. Looking up tearfully, she saw a teenage boy, no older her tender age of sixteen, gazing sadly at her, before withdrawing his hand, picking up the fallen claymore, bent the blade into a passable spade, and began digging with incredible speed and energy. Within the space of half an hour, he'd excavated a seven-foot pit, the same length as Barlow's body, which he gently picked up, laid in the grave, place the twin sword in his arms, and filled it in, leaving a stone slab with the words, "Here lies the body of a fallen hero, a champion beyond compare, who fought for the right, till his last breath." Taking Robin by the shoulders, the young man gently guided her towards the shore, where a ship lay at anchor, bobbing on the wine-dark seas. Robin asked softly, "what's your name", in a voice perilously close to breaking. The teen looked down at her, for he was a god six inches taller than her, and replies quietly, "Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be king of the pirates."

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L.T: WHOOO! Another story has commenced! Whatta rush! I can't begin to tell you how much I've missed all of you, and it feels so good to be able to write once more. Till the next time, JA NE!


	2. Chapter 2

**AI No Hana Saku Chapter Two**

L.T: Wow, guys! Only one review? That's a little shoddy, doncha think, Nyoro? Oops, I've been reading The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and I've started copying Tsuruya-San. My bad! Anyway, on with the story, Nyoro!

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TIME: 8:52 PM

LOCATON: AN ISLAND IN THE EAST BLUE

Roronoa Zolo, legendary three-swords-style master and former bounty hunter, was supposed to be keeping watch, but had fallen into a light doze, thus being unprepared for his captain's hails.

"ZOLO! AHOY THE SHIP! CAPTAIN COMING ABOARD WITH COMPANY!" starting awake, (the poor sod had been snoozing up the mast) Zolo toppled headfirst into the freezing waters below. Dragging himself upright, the enraged swordsman prepared to launch himself at Luffy, but was halted in his tracks by a fist, bouncing him off the side of the ship and pinning him there. Luffy waded out towards him, his stretched-out arm retracting, until Luffy stood nose-to-nose with his first mate. In a deathly whisper that seemed to carry the scent of an ancient tomb, where the undead roamed its crumbling halls and spirits wailed in the eternal darkness, Luffy, dark flames dancing in his eyes, warned Zolo in a voice that brooked no argument, "stay away from the girl, until she adjusts to living again, or I will end you as a man, on my oath I will. She saw her own brother, the last member of her family, cut down in a battle he had no hope of winning. I will take charge of her care, and until I say, you will not touch her, you will not speak to her except to answer any questions she may have, and you will not be alone in the same room as her. The same goes for Sanji, Usopp, Frankie, and Brooke. I will follow these instructions to the letter, and woe betide anyone who breaks my command."

Releasing Zolo, Luffy vaulted onto the deck of the Merry Go, pulling the lever that released the gangplank, allowing Nico Robin and the bedraggled Zolo to board the ship. Entering the Galley, Zolo repeated his captain's words to the other male crew members, but Sanji was too busy preparing tea and snacks for his captain's return. At the sound of a nervous footstep at the door, the Love-cook turned and beheld the most incredibly beautiful girl enter his humble kitchen. She had skin as soft and smooth as the mega-peaches that he was so fond of, cinnamon-coloured eyes, a full, pouty mouth that was made for kissing, and a long dark river of silky hair that cascaded down her slender back and framed her heart-shaped face to perfection. She was exquisite… with a gasp of joy, he hurled himself at the ethereal beauty in front of him, not heeding her gasp of fear, and closed his arms around… his captain's foot, which struck his most intimate place, and left him gasping on the deck. Luffy stepped in front of Robin, and crouched at his hapless cook's side. "Idiot! Why didn't you listen!" he shouted slamming his hand by Sanji's head, startling the poor guy out of his skin.

As Sanji stuttered out excuses, hands still cupped protectively around 'little Sanji', Luffy straightened up, and began issuing orders. "Nami! Run a hot, soapy bubble bath and set out fresh clothes for Miss Nico! Usopp! You and Zolo make up another bed in the women's quarters! Sanji1 get up and give Miss Nico a drink1 and someone fetch a BLANKET!" As the captain finished his tirade, the crew snapped out crisp salutes, chorused, "AYE-AYE, SIR!" and dashed off with a speed and efficiently that was most unlike their usual laid-back manner, leaving the sniffling girl alone with Captain Luffy, as he tried to calm her down. "It's okay, Robin, no-one's going to hurt you here," Luffy murmured, gently rubbing his charge's back. "Sanji was just happy to see you, is all." Robin sniffed. "But...h-he... looked...angry!" she wailed. "What did I do wrong?!" she broke down even more, collapsing to the deck and sobbing helplessly. Zolo rammed his head around the door-frame, yelled, "Bath's ready!" and disappeared. Luffy helped Robin to her feet, and led her down a short flight of stairs and into an expansive bathroom, where a large tub full of steaming water and bubbles waited. Closing his eyes, he turned to leave, when a small hand caught at his wrist. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that this helpless girl had seized him and was staring up at him with those pleading eyes. "p-please..." she whispered. Luffy realized what she wanted, and his face turned red and steam poured out of his ears. "Are you serious?" he gulped. Robin nodded shyly, and held out the blanket for him to take.

Wrapping it around his head, he tentatively reached out and gripped her shirt hem, asking once more, "Are you sure you're sure?" Robin nodded, but quickly answered in the alternative as she figured that he couldn't see. Sighing, Luffy gently tugged at her shirt and pulled it over her head, the fumbled for her shorts. Pulling them off in swift succession, he made to push her toward the bath, but she resisted, until he got it. She couldn't take a bath with her underwear on. Blushing furiously under his makeshift mask, he felt for the hem of her knickers and yanked them down in one smooth move, quickly reaching up and unhooking Robin front-hooking bra. Discarding it , he stepped forward, only to have it tangle around his legs, and he crashed face-first into Robin's breasts. As if that wasn't bad enough, Nami stepped in, to bring the other girl a towel, and found what she thought was her captain trying to rape Robin. "BAK HENTAI!" bellowed the navigator, throwing Luffy bodily from the room, before Robin hastily explained what had transpired. Apologising profusely, she untangled her captain from Robins' unmentionables, and scarpered. Unwittingly, the handle of her fighting staff had caught on Luffy's head-dress, and unravelled it, just as Robin was about to get into the tub. Luffy saw...everything. His eyes popped, his nose started bleeding, and, in a manner resembling Soul Eater confronting Witch Blair, stuttered, "n-n-naked lady!" and fell face first into the bath, where he proceeded to drink most of it.

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L.T: Welp, that about wraps up chapter two, and good news for all you Haruhi Suzumiya fans out there, I'm writing a story featuring Kyon and Nagato-San, from Nagato-San's point of view. Now, I'm not a girl, so I may get some things wrong, but please, just bear with me, I'm doing the best I can. JA NE!


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